literary analysis of poem

literary analysis of poem

  • Submitted By: Evline-b
  • Date Submitted: 08/05/2016 9:38 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 815
  • Page: 4

8-2-16

ANOTHER REASON WHY I DON’T KEEP A GUN AT THE HOUSE
BY BILLY COLLINS


We sometimes get so annoyed at someone that we feel so angry but helpless. We feel like killing the one who is troubling us. But we know that it is not right to do so and so we keep quiet. But this annoyance fades away and sometime as we get used to the situation, and adapt to dealing with it with a positive attitude instead and make the best out of it. We often start taking it lightly and start enjoying it and the anger of the past gets buried deep somewhere without making us uncomfortable anymore. The tone of annoyance is important and very obvious in the beginning part of the poem, “Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House” by Billy Collins. It brings out the author’s intolerance of things instead of just accepting them, but with humor, teaches the read3er a valuable lesson. The themes are anger, annoyance, then shifts to insightfulness, patience and acceptance.
“The neighbor’s dog will not stop barking” (5) suggests that this annoyance with the barking is getting to him. The author is annoyed and angry, not able to deal with the noise. The repetition of the phrase It seems as he would regret his decision afterwards, so he decides not to keep a gun in the house all together. The repetition of certain phrases, such as “The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking”, stresses to the reader really how annoying this dog must be. He doesn’t want to be violent, but he was definitely thinking about it, and grateful that there was no gun, thus the title. The title definitely catches the reader’s attention, it is humorous, and just an odd title. It is humorous to readers because of the reality. Someone can understand this sense of humor because they can relate to it.

The pain that the poet feels because of the bark of the dog is re-emphasized in the lines where the dog’s barks clash with the Beethoven’s symphony playing on the poet’s orchestra. The...

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